WEBVTT - Jeopardy! Champion Amy Schneider Wins By Being Herself 0:00:02.200 --> 0:00:05.120 This is Talia Schlanger, and you're listening to Here's the 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:08.840 Thing from I Heart Radio. There are some people you 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:10.720 just can't help but fall in love with when you 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:14.360 see them on TV. Amy Schneider is one of those people. 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:16.720 She won a lot of hearts and a lot of 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:20.000 money when she took Jeopardy by storm earlier this year 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:23.759 and became the most successful woman in the show's history. 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:27.319 Schneider held a forty game winning streak, which is the 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:31.160 second longest ever, and racked up an incredible one point 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:35.080 three million dollars in winnings. But it was Amy Schneider's 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:38.320 warmth and charm behind the podium that quickly endeared her 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:42.600 to Jeopardy audiences around the world. Schneider is back now, 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:45.880 competing in the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions this month, but 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:48.000 before we get to that, I wanted to know what 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:50.000 it was like for her the first time the phone 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:52.559 rang and a voice on the other end said You're 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:55.600 going to be on Jeopardy. It was the fall of 0:00:57.080 --> 0:00:59.440 and you know, it was something I've been trying for 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:02.160 for a long time. And I got a text and 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:04.120 it was like, Hey, this is John from Jeopardy. Do 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:06.600 you have time to talk this afternoon. It's it's good news. 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:08.920 And so I, you know, pretty much knew what it was, 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:10.880 and you know, we talked and he said that I 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:12.679 was going to be on the show. Yeah. So you've 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:14.560 been auditioning for years. What do you think it was 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:17.759 this time that made you successful? Yeah, I mean, I think, 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:19.880 you know, to an extent, I don't know that's the 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:23.000 secrets of the Jeopardy casting process, but I definitely think 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:25.440 a big factor was that it was the first time 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:28.959 I had reached the sort of in person although it 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:33.360 was over zoom auditions, since I transitioned, and I realized 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:35.039 looking back on it, I mean even when I just 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:37.560 looked like old pictures of myself some you know, the 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:41.640 occasional old videos of myself, like I'm just so closed 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:44.880 off and so like, you know, not wanting to reveal 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:47.840 anything about myself and and not wanting to give anything away, 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:50.160 and that, you know, is not the case anymore, and 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:52.440 that's that's not how I am now that I've transitioned, 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:54.600 And so I think I was just much more like 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:57.160 lively and engaging to them, you know, to be on 0:01:57.280 --> 0:01:59.520 camera than that I had been in the past. Oh, 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:02.080 that's so interesting. I mean, I'm sort of done by 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:04.200 that right off the bat, that it's bringing your full 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:06.480 self to the table. Is something that allowed you to 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:11.240 achieve this lifelong dream. Yeah. No, And that's been like 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:14.240 a sort of just unexpected lesson of transitioning that that 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:16.600 I think can apply to a lot of people. Is that, like, 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:19.480 you know, I just thought it was something I had 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:21.360 to do and it was going to make my life 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:23.240 harder in a lot of ways, but I just needed to. 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:26.120 But then it's it's made my life easier in a 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:28.200 ton of ways that I just didn't think about and 0:02:28.240 --> 0:02:31.240 didn't expect. You know that when you're being yourself and 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:33.600 whatever you're doing, you're you're just more successful at it 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:35.680 and things come easier. And that's that's not something I 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:39.200 expected to happen. Wow, it's so it's beautiful. And I 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:41.000 want to talk a little bit more about that, about 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:43.040 the transition later and about that part of your life. 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:46.000 But first, so you get the call from Jeopardy from 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:48.560 this text message in the in the afternoon. How long 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:51.040 is it between the time that you find out that 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:53.200 you are going to be a contestant on Jeopardy and 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:54.880 the time that you actually have to pack your bags 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:58.120 and and go walk into that studio. Yeah, so generally 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:00.520 it's like three or four weeks, like coming down in 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:02.720 three weeks, that will be the date you tape your episodes. 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:06.120 And I did. I flew down to l A. And 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:08.200 then that afternoon they called and they were like, hey, 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:12.080 there's been an issue like negotiations with the union over COVID, 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:14.720 you know, protocols or whatever, and so we're we're just 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:17.520 going to have to cancel taping and we'll reschedule you 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:20.000 for a few weeks later. So I flew back home, 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.080 and then in the intervening time, Alex passed away, and 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:25.519 so you know, obviously everything was kind of up in 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:28.120 the air, and they eventually, for for me and a 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:29.920 few other people that were kind of in my position 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:32.640 that have been rescheduled a couple of times, they decided 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:35.119 to just put us on hold until they were sure 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:37.680 things were stable and they wouldn't have to reschedule us again. 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:39.800 But they didn't. They didn't actually tell us that. So 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:42.680 I was just like waiting a year, being like, is 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.160 this really going to happen? Are they like? Have I 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:47.000 been tricked to a dream that it was a weird 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:50.280 interlude there, did you say a year? Yeah, so wait 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:52.400 a minute, You've achieved your dream and now you have 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:55.760 to wait a year and tell me what are you 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:58.400 doing in that year? Are you preparing yourself, are you 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:02.280 giving up hope? Combination of all of this. Yeah, So, 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:03.720 I mean, I guess what I'd say is that, like 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:06.880 the way the Jeopardy audition process works is that once 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:10.160 you get to that last stage, they just tell you, Okay, 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:12.400 you're in the You're in the pool for the next 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:15.200 eighteen months, and in that eighteen months you might get 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:16.559 a call to be like, hey, you're on the show. 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:19.680 And if you don't, then you didn't start over from 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:22.920 the beginning. And so it was not the first time 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:24.480 in my life that had been in that kind of 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:27.839 state of this might be happening soon, so you know, 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:30.320 and I was just doing kind of what I've always done, 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:34.280 which is basically nothing too intense, but mainly just like 0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:38.760 during my downtimes, going through old games online, old questions 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:41.039 and just sort of looking for things that I was 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:44.479 consistently not knowing, or you know, patterns of things that 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:47.240 that they focus on that that might be unexpected, Like 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:49.679 you know, they talk about like Edith Wharton and Henry 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:52.120 James and like turn of the century authors, like a 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:54.840 lot more than most people are. You know, they have 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:57.400 these weird kind of like you know, things that they're 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:01.480 they're disproportionately focused on. So yeah, So I mean, like 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:03.839 that's just something that I've you know, done off and 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:06.880 on for the you know, twelve thirteen years that I've 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:09.839 been auditioning, and so I just you know, kept doing that. Wow, 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:11.920 So You've been preparing for this a long time, and 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:14.640 I think probably your whole life building up this brain network. 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:16.760 I want to know, what else are you reading encyclopedias? 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:19.320 Are you keeping up with the news, are you calling friends? 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.200 What are you doing? Yeah? One thing I'd say is 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:24.320 that apart from the like going through the old Jeopardy games, 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:28.159 like I'm not doing much like specifically studying for Jeopardy. 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:30.680 I've just always been just sort of curious and wanting 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:33.360 to explore and find out new things. So like, you know, 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:36.560 for you know, as long as it's been around. When 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:39.120 I'm protrastinating at work, one of my things I'll do 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:41.760 is just kind of go to Wikipedia and sort of 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:44.400 just like click around and find something interesting and then 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:46.720 and read up on it. I mean I've always been 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:50.200 a big reader. Sometimes starting in my like mid twenties, 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:53.919 I really like started gravitating towards history and reading a 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:55.640 lot of that. And that's that's true to this day. 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:58.320 That's like probably like fifty of what I read, and 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:01.000 so that too. I think his returns out to be 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:05.040 really useful for Jeopardy and you know, life, because it 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:09.520 kind of touches everything, like, you know, everything you know, 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:12.440 a good work of history will tie into you know, 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:18.120 economics and politics and science and gender relations and art 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:20.800 and and everything else. Can you know fit into that? 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:24.120 Oh for sure. Now there's a pattern that I think 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:28.200 is really interesting. You studied computer science. Ken Jennings, who's 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:30.960 the current host of Jeopardy and the longest reigning champion, 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:35.640 also studied computer science, and Matt Emotio, who is now 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:38.560 below you as the third longest streak in Jeopardy history 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:41.320 with thirty seven wins, also has a PhD in computer science. 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:44.160 I found that really surprising because you don't think of 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:46.000 that as a subject that a lot of questions are about. 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:47.640 But do you have a theories or something about the 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:51.559 computer science brain. Yeah, I think that there's a certain 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:55.000 type of person that gets into programming because you know, 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:57.080 and this is at least the case for me, because 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.120 of kind of the creative side of it. You know, 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.440 it is something that it's got the career security that 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:04.760 creative writing and art and things like that don't have. 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:07.000 But at the same time, you are kind of starting 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:09.120 with a blank page and being like, make a thing. 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:11.400 That's why some people get into it. Some people just 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:14.800 have these really like orderly logical minds that fit well 0:07:14.840 --> 0:07:16.880 to it, and those I don't think are going to 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:19.160 be as well suited to jeopardy. But I think if 0:07:19.160 --> 0:07:21.240 you're interested in that. And the other thing that I 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:25.880 found fascinating about it was that it's really about translation. 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:30.040 That you're taking something a human said and telling it 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:33.120 to a computer, and that forces you to realize all 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:37.920 the like unstated assumptions and you know, subtext and everything 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:40.320 else that go into you know, human language, because the 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:42.880 computer doesn't know anything, it isn't going to assume anything, 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:45.000 and you have to tell it all explicitly, and so 0:07:45.200 --> 0:07:48.320 it requires you to understand things kind of in a 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.760 deep way in order to tell them to a computer. 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:53.960 And so if you're interested in like diving into things 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:57.360 like that there's a good chance that you'll apply that interest, 0:07:57.440 --> 0:08:00.680 not just programming budget, to just whatever else. One of 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:02.800 the things about me, but like I always you know, 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:06.080 didn't quite fit in in the industry, was that like 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:09.320 a lot of programmers will work all day and then 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:12.040 go home and then write more code at night for 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:14.400 their own personal projects. And that was never me. I 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:16.160 was like, that's fine for the day, but I've got 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:17.600 other stuff I want to do with the rest of 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:20.600 my time, like what oh, you know, like I've always 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:23.560 had like various half finished projects going on, like if 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:25.560 I've always needed to have something creative going on in 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:27.720 my life. For for most of my life, that was theater, 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:30.440 and it was like if I went, you know, maybe 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:32.560 six months without being in a play, I'd get like 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:34.760 itchy and I feel like I needed to do it again. 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:37.040 And then in the last ten years or so, it's 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:39.120 just the time commitment, I just haven't really been able 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:41.440 to do that. So I've been finding other things I've done, 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:43.920 like stand up comedy. One of the big things I've 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:46.560 done was podcasting at a Doubt Nappy podcast. For a 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:48.960 long time, that until now was my claim to fame. 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:51.880 It was it was reasonably successful. I've got probably like 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:54.720 ten twenty things that are like ideas I had and 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:57.480 started on and abandoned that I intend to pick up 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:01.080 again someday. Yeah. Okay, wait, we're taking a little detour here, 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:02.559 but I have to know, is there a dream role 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:04.520 that you have in theater that you'd like to play 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:07.000 one day? Yeah? I think, you know, I think I 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.640 wound up like doing a lot of comic roles in 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:12.520 my time, so definitely one of the like big, you know, 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:15.520 tragedy ones. I think both McBeth and Lady McBeth are 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:18.959 fascinating roles that i'd be by be interested in. I think, yeah, 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:21.760 oh wow, imagine playing both of them on alternating nights 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:24.760 or something like that. Right, Yeah, that would be something 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:27.080 that would be fascinating. Oh and the other one would 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:29.719 be one of the three leads in Rosencranson Guild and 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:32.719 Sturner Dead. That's that's maybe my favorite play. M M. 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:35.360 I love it. Okay, back to Jeopardy. So we've got 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:37.599 the brain prep and I guess it sounds to me 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:40.000 almost I'm picturing like neural networks that you're building in 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:42.880 your in your mind almost as a web for mental preparation. 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:47.280 But then there's also the physical preparation of button clicking, 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:50.200 buzzer pressing, Like you got to be good at the buzzer, 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:52.800 So how did you go about preparing for that aspect 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:55.120 of being on Jeopardy. Yeah, I mean, you know, there's 0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:57.040 only so much you can do, so I definitely i'd 0:09:57.080 --> 0:10:00.520 read you know, past champions and the advice of they've given, 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:02.959 and certainly, you know, when I was watching the game 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:05.199 at home, i'd have like a ballpoint pen just to 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:11.000 sort of get in the habit of like that. Absolutely okay, 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:13.360 But the thing about it is like you can't really know, 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:16.800 Like the way the buzzer works is that there's somebody 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:19.400 flipping a switch that enables them and turns on some 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:21.400 lights by the side of the board when the when 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:25.120 the host finishes the question, and if you buzz in 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:28.800 before they've flipped that switch, then when they do flip 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:31.320 the switch, your buzzer is locked out for a quarter second, 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:32.880 and so other people will be able to get in 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:35.400 ahead of you. And so it's really like it's just 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:38.800 all about like, you know, being in tune with that 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:42.200 person and you know, no, you know, feeling when they're 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:44.040 about to do it so like I had, you know, 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:45.640 I had read that advice and I went in with 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.360 a certain strategy of like, okay, you sort of aim 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:51.319 for like the last syllable of the clue as the 0:10:51.400 --> 0:10:54.160 hostess reading it and things like that, and it was 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:57.559 doing okay, but it wasn't really it wasn't doing well enough. 0:10:57.600 --> 0:10:59.200 I mean, it was up against this really good champion 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:02.240 in my first game, and so for whatever reason, I 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:04.160 just in the middle of it was just just decided 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:06.400 to kind of throw that out and just stop trying 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:09.679 to time it and just going by like intuition and 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:12.960 just feeling when the right moment was. And it worked 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:14.839 and it it kept working. So you know, it's like, 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:16.280 I don't know if that would work for everyone, but 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:18.680 that that's how it was for me. Let's talk about 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:21.040 that first game. Tell me what it was like the 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:24.959 first time you walked onto the Alextro Bug stage at 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:28.120 Sony Pictures Studios, Like, what how did it compare to 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:31.600 what you had dreamed of? Yeah, walking on the stage 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:35.120 was you know, it was a lot And that was 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:37.199 really I think the biggest, you know, some of the 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:39.400 most important preparation I did was in the last week 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:42.880 or two before taping, because I realized that, like I 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:47.600 was so afraid of losing that like it was getting 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:51.800 kind of paralyzing and becoming counterproductive. And so really in 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:54.839 that time, I was really focusing on lowering the stakes 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.839 for myself and saying, it's fine, like if you go 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:00.480 on and lose, you go on and lose. It's definitely 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:02.679 a possibility that really might happen, and it would be 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:05.520 okay if it did, you know, and you're just there 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:08.960 to like be in the moment, have fun, enjoy the experience, 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:12.160 and let the chips fall where they may. And so, 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:15.240 you know, I was definitely it was definitely an effort 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:17.920 that that you know, anxiety and that tension and everything 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:19.800 was still trying to creep in there, and I was 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:23.120 like having to actively hold it down. But I'm glad 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:24.920 I really did that preparation. I don't I think I 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:27.679 wouldn't have had a chance without it. That's massive, I mean, 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:29.719 it's a whole It sounds to me like like what 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:31.920 an elite athlete would have to do in order to 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:34.360 cite themselves up for an Olympic game or to like 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:37.000 to keep their head in it. Yeah. Absolutely, it's funny 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:40.480 because I am a sports fan, and like, I don't 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:43.080 hang out I hang out with like, you know, actors 0:12:43.080 --> 0:12:45.319 and comedians and artists, and like I never have anybody 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.480 to talk sports with. But it was like, especially as 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:50.800 it went on, I really was finding myself being like, 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.000 I really start to understand these sort of sports cliches 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:56.760 and the sort of like the answers that athletes given 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.480 interviews that are kind of like formulaic. Like I really 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:02.800 started to see that competition and that that trying to 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:05.719 be you know, completely focused, trying to be at the 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:08.800 peak of your game. I was surprised by how suddenly 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:12.079 relatable I felt like professional athletes were, oh yeah, and 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:13.839 the endurance of it as well, Like I read somewhere 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:17.400 that you tape five episodes in a day, which is 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:19.679 fine if you're you know, in for a couple episodes 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:22.040 and then you lose, But if you're on a forty 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:24.599 game winning street, can you please paint the picture for 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:27.959 me of like what it is like to actually compete 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:32.439 in five full episodes of Jeopardy one day. It's a lot, 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.199 you know. One thing about it is that during the 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:37.920 game itself, like it goes at such a fast pace 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:40.920 that it's like there's like not time to be fatigued 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.040 or whatever. Like you you sort of don't notice it, 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:46.520 but yeah, I mean, especially like after the first full 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.199 day that I did, I definitely I was just so 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:51.839 physically tired. At the end of it. I really focused on, 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:54.239 you know, the next day, I was there really conserving 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:57.400 my energy through everything else through through the rest of 0:13:57.440 --> 0:14:00.679 the day, Like every time the cameras rof I was 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:03.520 like leaning on the podium and like stretching out my legs, 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.040 giving my feet a rest, that sort of thing, because 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:08.439 it is it's it's like an eleven hour day and 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:11.040 you do too a week, and like by the end 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:13.840 of that second day, it was just like I was done. 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:16.400 How do you even have the energy to walk like 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:17.959 go back to your hotel? You just go back to 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:20.440 your hotel room and flop on the bed. I did. 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.520 I did. I would go and just lie down and 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.040 like do nothing, Like I wouldn't look at my phone, 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:29.840 I wouldn't think, I wouldn't like just do anything, just 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:33.040 like lie there until I could like start the function again. Yeah. Yeah, 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:35.240 And it's so weird too, because you're having this experience 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:37.440 kind of privately, like it's not airing as it's taping. 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:40.280 You're taping these episodes that will air, you know, months 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.520 in advance, So that has to be a very strange 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:45.360 feeling as well. I would think it definitely was. I mean, 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:48.120 I think overall, I'm glad that it worked that way. 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:50.160 I think, you know, a few things, Like one is 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:52.480 that I was really bummed as it was leading up 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:54.360 to my final episode because I knew. I was like, Oh, 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:55.920 all these people are going to be so sad that 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.120 I lose, you know. And so if I if my 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:00.160 episodes have been airing, and I'd sort of had at 0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:03.000 pressure of like knowing that people were like rooting for me, 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:05.480 that that would have made it harder, I think, And 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:08.120 I think that, you know. And it also like and 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:10.080 there was no studio audience. It was just the other 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:12.600 contestants and the crew, and so that also made it 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.800 easier to just ignore the cameras and not worry too 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:18.560 much about that stuff. But then when I was at 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:20.680 home and and and you know, and then in the 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:22.480 weeks after I was done taping and leading up to 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:25.960 the airing of the episodes, that was really strange. You know. 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:28.040 I told a few people, probably more than I really 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:30.080 should have, but you know, still it was it was 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.360 a secret from a lot of people, and it was 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.640 just like I knew I had done this historic thing, 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:37.080 and I knew that this was going to be a 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:40.640 huge deal and you know, kind of a life changing thing, 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:44.280 and yet nobody knew about it, and I couldn't talk 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:47.040 about it. It was it was really weird. Oh, for sure, 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:49.440 it had to be. Were you watching the episodes with people? 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:52.800 Certainly Genevieve every night, my girlfriend at the time, and 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:55.760 you know, reasonably often we'd go over. There's a you know, 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:57.400 a couple that lives near Ross. We would go over 0:15:57.400 --> 0:15:59.440 to their house. For the first episode, we had like 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.280 a whole watch party, like my friend's got an airbnb 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:04.320 and we had like eight or ten people, and like 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.520 it was it was a whole event, and we kind 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:08.520 of did a bit for the last episode two, but 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:11.000 otherwise it was just like, yeah, we were just kind 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:13.720 of living our lives and you know, if somebody happened 0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:15.120 to be over, we'd watch with them, and if not, 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:17.040 it was just with us. You're probably like, if we 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:20.240 have a watch party every episode that I'm on Friends, 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.160 you're in for a long like a month and a 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:24.640 half of Watch period. I mean that was the other thing. 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:26.960 Those those first couple of episodes. I'm getting, like the 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:29.360 first you know, five episodes. I've got these people who 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:30.960 are text me every time being like, oh, good job, 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:33.880 and I'm like, you don't know what you've the commitment 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:36.240 you've signed up for if you're going to be texting 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:43.720 this every time. Jeopardy champion Amy Schneider. If you like 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:47.360 conversations about competitive game shows, check out our episode with 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:51.200 host of That's My jam An, executive producer of Password, 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:55.720 Jimmy Fallon. My mom goes, you know that Tom Cruise 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:58.640 is great. Thanks watching. He looked really good with his 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:02.120 long hand. You, he says his Tom Cruise, Yeah, I 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:04.520 really liked his long hair. I go, yeah, he looks 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:07.200 good with long hair. He's Tom Cruise. Yeah I really 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:09.440 like his long hair. I go, I heard you the 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:13.440 first three time. Okay, I'm giving you a hint to 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:17.919 grow your hair out. It's too short to hang up 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:20.320 the phone. Oh, I started hooking up. I started make hands, 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:24.800 returning green, I short started a rip. Here more of 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:28.800 Alex conversation with Jimmy Fallon in our archives at Here's 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:31.680 the Thing dot org. After the break, I talked to 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:34.640 Amy Schneider about the mixed feelings she had when her 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:48.040 epic Jeopardy run finally ended. I'm Talia Schlanger, and you're 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:52.159 listening to Here's the thing. Amy Schneider broke multiple records 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:55.080 in her Jeopardy run this winter. She's currently number five 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:58.600 on the all time total winnings list. She also holds 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:02.560 the second longest of victory streak and is the winningest 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:06.119 woman in Jeopardy history. I was curious about her strategy 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:10.639 for tackling the infamous Jeopardy board. The one sort of 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:13.240 like specific strategy thing I had was to like go 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:16.040 after categories that I felt weaker in first, so that 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:17.679 there wouldn't be as much money at stake if there 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:20.119 is a daily double. But beyond that, my sort of 0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:23.440 meta strategy or that, the way I was thinking about 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:25.680 it was, I just wanted as few things to think 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:28.960 about as possible, so I didn't do too much about 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:31.560 like thinking about like, you know, a lot of recent 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:33.680 champions have gone for the higher value that you know, 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:36.000 amounts first, or like jumping around to keep it, pull 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:38.359 off balance or things like that, and I didn't want 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:40.359 to do that for a couple of reasons. One is 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:42.800 that you know, it was an extra thing to think about, 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:45.560